# Sentence Transformers

Framework · https://godooo.ai/en/framework/sentence-transformers

> Sentence Transformers is an open-source AI framework from Hugging Face, launched in 2019, made for developers.

A Python library for computing embeddings and training rerankers for search and retrieval.

Main jobs: Embeddings. It is open source and free to use. You can use it offline on your own machine, on your own server and through an API.

## At a glance

- **Type:** [Framework](https://godooo.ai/en/browse#framework)
- **Made by:** [Hugging Face](https://godooo.ai/en/org/hugging-face)
- **Launched:** 2019
- **Galaxy:** [Models & APIs](https://godooo.ai/en/galaxy/builders)
- **Open source:** Yes · Apache-2.0
- **Source code:** [github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers](https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers)
- **GitHub stars:** 19,117
- **How you run it:** Runs offline · Self-host · API
- **Made for:** Developers
- **Website:** [sbert.net](https://www.sbert.net)
- **Also known as:** SBERT · sentence-transformers

## What it can do

- **[Embeddings](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/embeddings)** — main job, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “This framework provides an easy method to compute embeddings for accessing, using, and training state-of-the-art embedding and reranker models.” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers), 2026-09-24)
- **[Fine-tuning](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/fine-tuning)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “This framework allows you to fine-tune your own sentence embedding methods, so that you get task-specific sentence embeddings.” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers), 2026-09-24)
- **[Model training](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/model-training)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Training Overview Why Finetune? Training Components Model Dataset Dataset Format” (read on [sbert.net](https://www.sbert.net/), 2026-09-24)
- **[Vector search](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/vector-search)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Semantic Search Background Symmetric vs. Asymmetric Semantic Search Manual Implementation Optimized Implementation Speed Optimization Elasticsearch OpenSearch Approximate Nearest Neighbor” (read on [sbert.net](https://www.sbert.net/), 2026-09-24)

## Alternatives

- **[BGE](https://godooo.ai/en/model/bge)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings, Vector search
- **[BERT](https://godooo.ai/en/model/bert)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings
- **[CLIP](https://godooo.ai/en/model/clip)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings
- **[word2vec](https://godooo.ai/en/model/word2vec)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings
- **[ELMo](https://godooo.ai/en/model/elmo)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings
- **[Weaviate](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/weaviate)** (Open source, free): Also does: Vector search, Embeddings
- **[OpenAI Platform](https://godooo.ai/en/product/openai-platform)** (Paid): Also does: Embeddings, Fine-tuning
- **[Mistral](https://godooo.ai/en/model/mistral)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings
- **[LLM](https://godooo.ai/en/cli/llm)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings
- **[LocalAI](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/localai)** (Open source, free): Also does: Embeddings

## Connections

- **Applies:** [Embeddings](https://godooo.ai/en/concept/embeddings)
- **Built with:** [Transformers](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/transformers)

## Questions

### What is Sentence Transformers?

Sentence Transformers is an open-source AI framework from Hugging Face, launched in 2019, made for developers. A Python library for computing embeddings and training rerankers for search and retrieval.

### Is Sentence Transformers free?

Yes. Sentence Transformers is open source (Apache-2.0) and free to use.

### Is Sentence Transformers open source?

Yes, under the Apache-2.0 license. The source code is at https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers.

### Can Sentence Transformers run locally?

Yes. Sentence Transformers can run offline on your own machine. It can also be self-hosted on your own server.

### What can Sentence Transformers do?

Main jobs: Embeddings. It can also do: Fine-tuning, Model training, Vector search.

### Who makes Sentence Transformers?

Sentence Transformers is made by Hugging Face.

### What are open-source alternatives to Sentence Transformers?

Open-source ones: BGE, BERT, CLIP, word2vec, ELMo, Weaviate, Mistral and LLM. Others: OpenAI Platform.

## Sources

- [github.com](https://github.com/huggingface/sentence-transformers) — checked 2026-09-24
- [sbert.net](https://www.sbert.net/) — checked 2026-09-24

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Last updated 2026-09-24 · sources checked 2026-09-24 · Markdown version of https://godooo.ai/en/framework/sentence-transformers. Every page on this site has one: add .md to its address.